|

Some people really needle me!

Byjonathan

Have you ever wondered how I can stand being needled sometimes?

Or perhaps you think I have a prickly personality?

Need more proof that I have thick skin?

This is my third acupuncture treatment for Bell’s palsy. I’m an old hand at acupuncture and have utilized it for more than 10 years now.

An acupuncture treatment always leaves me feeling much better.  It is great for reducing my stress.

I call acupuncture “enforced meditation”.  It helps those of us who find it difficult to remain still and quiet long enough to calm our minds if there are a dozen or so needles stuck in us.

It is disconcerting for me to see my left eye roll up until only the white is showing. From my point of view, both eyes are closed. I don’t realize that I’m not blinking or closing my left eye until I see a video of myself.

My acupuncturist is Chris Powell, of Boulevard Yoga and Healing Arts (formerly Missouri Acupuncture). Chris has helped me through some rough spots over the years.

Thanks man!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN5c9SgvnH8]

Wait... there's more!

  • 97

    97. That’s my latest CD4+ count, less than half the count from six weeks ago.

    That’s it. I have tried as many alternative treatments as I can think of to reverse the decline. I will be starting my third round of pharmaceutical ARVs as soon as I can get a prescription and fill it.

    This decision has been a long time coming, and in hindsight, I probably should have restarted a few months ago. There’s nothing magical about 97, or being below 100, but it’s as good a breaking point as any. I’ve long argued that there are two things to keep in mind about CD4 counts: one is the long-term trend; the other is single- or low double-digit counts.

  • Reduce AIDS drug toxicity and side effects

    I embarked on my third course of ARVs since 1998. For ten of the sixteen years I have been HIV-positive, I was able to manage well enough without ARVs and I continue to believe there is no reason for otherwise healthy HIV-positive—let alone negative—gay men to take these drugs. To those who want to wave a recent study about the benefits of early intervention in my face, I would ask them why they put so much faith in a science that has utterly failed us to date.

  • Retreat and Adventure — Midwest Men’s Festival

    When I received my HIV diagnosis in 1998, I withdrew from my community of gay men. I “went to ground”, thinking that isolation was the only safe place to avoid being criticized for seroconverting at such a late date, when we were all supposed to know better.

    This past week has been yet another bifurcation point in my life. I returned to a community I have known about, if not been a steady part of, for more than 30 years. A community of men whom I could touch and hug. Men whose tears might wet my face and whose body heat and life forces I could feel in ways that can only happen in person. It really did feel like coming home.

  • The truth about Truvada: PrEP won’t stop AIDS

    I’m willing to grant that gay men are entitled to use PrEP… provided they have access to all the information they need to make an informed decision. Informed consent has been a hallmark of the HIV and AIDS research and prevention efforts for three decades, and that shouldn’t be waived for the campaign favoring PrEP.

    Gay men deserve to know that all the claims for Truvada reducing the risk of acquiring HIV-positivity  are based on trials—funded by Gilead—that emphasized the importance of using condoms…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *